from the rivet; then, throwing
their weight upon it, it turned upon the bolt at the other end,
until it hung perpendicularly. In another half hour the other two
bars were similarly removed, and the heavy shutters opened. They
were closed again, until their preparations were complete.

First they ate their supper, then sat and talked until nine. Then
they knotted their sheets together, and tied the underclothes into
bundles.

"The Austrian government will be no losers," Fergus laughed. "They
will get three Prussian uniforms, instead of six suits of prison
underclothing. Now, shall I go first, or will one of you?"

"We will go according to rank," Ritzer laughed.

"Very well. Now mind, gentlemen, whatever you do, take the water
quietly. I will wait until you are both down, then we will follow
each other closely, so that we can help one another if necessary. I
can hardly see the water from here; and the sentry, being twice as
far off from it as we are, will see it less. Besides, I think it
likely that they will be standing in their sentry boxes, in such a
rain as this; and I feel confident that we shall get across without
being seen. The river is high, and the opposite wall of the moat is
only a foot above the water, so we shall have no difficulty in
getting out on the other side.

"I have the money sewn in a small bag round my neck. We may as well
take our knives with us. They will help us to tackle the boatmen. I
think that is everything. Now, we will be off."

Fastening the sheet firmly to one of the bars, he swung himself
out, slid down the rope quietly and noiselessly, and entered the
water, which was so cold that it almost took his breath away. He
swam a stroke or two along the wall, and waited until joined by
both his comrades. Their casemate being the end one, they had but
some ten or twelve yards to swim to the angle of the wall.

Another fifty took them to a point facing the cut. Fergus had paced
it on the rampart above, and calculated that each stroke would take
them a yard. It was too dark to see more than the dim line of the
wall on the other side. He waited until the others joined him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, in a low voice.

"Yes, but this cold is frightful."

"We shall soon be out of it," he said. "Wait till I have gone a few
yards, and then follow, one after the other."

The surface of the moat was so ruffled by the wind that Fergus had
little fear of being seen, even if the sentry ab